Monday, June 20, 2005

Danish Game for Exotic Dinners

You can have tea with dessert but never have meat with a Danish.

Read on:

Zookeepers find muskrats delectable

ReutersMon Jun 20,12:32 PM ET

Danish zookeepers slaughtered animals in their care, including more than 50 muskrats, and served the meat to unsuspecting friends and family until zoos changed their rules, newspaper Ekstra Bladet reported Friday.

"A single muskrat serves up to four people. You just have to avoid saying what it is before your family has eaten it because it sounds disgusting," elephant keeper Peter Jensen was quoted as saying.

Nobody at Copenhagen Zoo, home to 3,300 animals and 264 species, was available for comment.

The zookeepers also feasted on antelope and gaur, the newspaper said.

"It's always a success when you can serve you friends something special," zookeeper Nikolai Rhod said, adding he had also eaten rabbits, pigs and chicken from the petting zoo.

Zookeepers in Denmark used to slaughter animals for meat until a zoo crackdown last year under which anyone caught doing so would face disciplinary action. Such practices did not break Danish law.